Posts Tagged ‘1960s’

Forthcoming Attractions: Mid May 2012

Monday, May 14th, 2012

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group of vintage items soon to be added to the H is for Home website including a medium sized orange & white Cathrineholm Lotus enamel bowl, wooden rolling pin with red handles, pottery mixing bowl with blue interior, orange cased glass light shade produced by Holmgaard, floral fabric in shades of orange, wooden shopping reminder board, wooden letter rack, set of wooden handled knives in a stand, pottery sifter made by Portmeirion and a metal swizzle stick with blue painted wooden handle

Here’s a new batch of recent vintage finds – slightly more items than our last ‘Forthcoming Attractions’ post!

group of vintage kitchenalia items soon to be added to the H is for Home website including a wooden rolling pin with red handles, pottery mixing bowl with blue interior, pottery sifter made by Portmeirion and a metal swizzle stick with blue painted wooden handle

We’ll start with a few pieces for the kitchen. Quite a blue feel to the selection. These vintage mixing bowls often have cream interiors, but more rarely have these lovely coloured glazes in blue, orange or yellow. The utensil sitting inside the bowl is a drinks mixer or frother. The metal whisk end spins as you press the handle down – perfect for cocktails, hot chocolate etc.

detail from a group of vintage kitchenalia items soon to be added to the H is for Home website including a wooden rolling pin with red handles, pottery mixing bowl with blue interior, pottery sifter made by Portmeirion and a metal swizzle stick with blue painted wooden handle

The sugar or flour sifter is classic 1960s with its geometric pattern in sky blue & deep olive green. It’s from the ‘Tivoloi’ range produced by Portmeirion Pottery.

close up view of orange cased glass light shade produced by Holmgaard

This bowl could also find a good home in the kitchen, but has a thousand uses around the house. We often feature these pieces of colourful enamel produced by Cathrineholm of Norway – teapots, pans, bowls, ice buckets and more!

pair of vintage wooden items soon to be added to the H is for Home website - a wooden letter rack and set of wooden handled knives in a stand, pottery sifter made by Portmerion and a metal swizzle stick with blue painted wooden handle

Now for a bit of wood. The butter knife set is a great bit of Scandinavian design – sculptural and useful. It was produced by Karlsson & Nilsson of Sweden in the 1950s or 60s. We think the letter box is very sweet – it would give a lovely vintage touch to an office desk or hallway.

vintage 1950s wooden shopping list reminder board

Probably our favourite object this week is this 1960s shopping list board. It’s a humble object and quite a rare survivor being so simply constructed. It certainly has lots of charm.

detail from a vintage 1950s wooden shopping list reminder board

We love the graphics – wife doing a spot of homemaking, hubby out collecting the parcels!!

orange cased glass light shade produced by Holmgaard and a quantity of floral fabric in shades of orange

And finally, a bold flash of orange. The lampshade is a very good quality piece of cased glass – it was produced by Holmegaard of Denmark, in the 1960s or 70s. The fabric is from a similar era. We think it might have been produced by Crabtree Fabrics. It would make great cushion covers.

close up view of floral patterned fabric in shades of orange

Or perhaps even more perfect… curtains for a vintage camper van. One glimpse of these and you’d be in a happy, holiday frame of mind!

Dress to Impress

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

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top detail from vintage 1960s/70s sleeveless patterned polyester dress

Justin arrived home with this dress last week after a trip to a local auction.

top detail from vintage 1960s/70s sleeveless patterned polyester dress with thin belt

He was well aware that it may not find its way into the shop.

full front view of vintage 1960s/70s sleeveless patterned polyester dress with thin belt

It’s very ‘Me’ – vintage, bright and very versatile.  I’ll wear it on its own, with this thin belt, with brightly coloured tights, over trousers and/or a blouse – the combinations & variations are almost endless!

detail of fabric from vintage 1960s/70s sleeveless patterned polyester dress

…and what a groovy pattern!

vintage orange Welsh wool tapestry handbag

In the same week he came across this vintage Welsh wool tapestry handbag. And he was even more certain that I was going to keep it for myself – I have a cape and a purse in the exact same fabric & colour!

buckle detail from vintage orange Welsh wool tapestry handbag

It’s in absolutely mint condition – and look at its gorgeous brushed steel clasp!

Forthcoming Attractions: Early April 2012

Monday, April 9th, 2012

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vintage Lena & Al Eklund tin coasters and vintage jigsaw with hey diddle diddle nursery rhyme illustration

We’ve assembled some new items that we’ve picked up recently. They’re all arranged on a lovely vintage kitchenette – itself a recent auction purchase.

vintage Lena & Al Eklund tin coasters and vintage jigsaw with hey diddle diddle nursery rhyme illustration

We often put these kitchenettes in our antiques centre shop – they’re good sellers and an added advantage is that they’re great for displaying lots of other items whilst they wait for someone to give them a good home. They require varying amounts of work when we buy them – a good wash usually – then painting, fresh lining paper etc. This one’s had its thorough wash, but apart from that, it’s good to go. We like its caramel colour and daisy patterned paper.

pair of vintage perpetual calendars

Moving onto the smaller items – two perpetual calendars to start with – one wooden, one red-orange plastic. Both probably dating from the 1970s. Perfect for the home office desk or shelf.

TG Green Domino spotted cream jug and vintage Worcester Ware coffee tin

Also sitting on the upper shelves are this pottery jug & coffee tin – slightly earlier in vintage – both 1950s/60s.  The jug was produced by T G Green and is from the ‘Domino’ range – we like the colour and simple polka dot design – ideal as a milk jug or for displaying cut flowers.

vintage Worcester Ware coffee tin

The coffee tin was produced by Worcester Ware. They made some lovely metalware items around this time – storage tins, placemats, serving trays, waste paper bins and so on.

set of vintage Lena & Al Eklund tin coasters

Sticking with the metalware theme, we have this very vibrant set of coasters. These were designed by Lena & Al Eklund and produced by Launds Lonborg of Denmark. Are they fruit trees or flowers?

vintage jigsaw with hey diddle diddle nursery rhyme illustration

Next to the coasters on the main photo is this fabulous children’s wooden jigsaw. It features the nursery rhyme, ‘Hey diddle, diddle’. It was made by Arrow Games Ltd and we guess it dates from the 1960s. We love the illustration – it is signed by the artist ‘Hutchings’ although we haven’t established a first name yet – perhaps someone out there knows?

vintage Mousie Mousie party game

This sweet little party game will be of a similar age – this one produced by Spears Games. Justin says he’s got some vague memories of playing this with his Granny. Who needs an X-box when you’ve got ‘Mousie-Mousie’?

pair of vintage Thermos flasks

With summer approaching, thoughts turn to picnics, camping and trips to the beach. Colourful melamine and vintage Thermos flasks always prove popular from now until November.

pair of vintage Thermos flasks

This sweet little vase was made by Hornsea Pottery and is part of their ‘Rainbow’ range. There were lots of shapes made in this pattern – plant pots, vases, ashtrays and cruet sets.

vintage saucepan on atomic wire pan stand

To the left of the main photo is this tall pan stand – the red ‘atomic’ ball feet are a nice touch. On it sits a set of three aluminium saucepans with teak handles – they’re totally unused and  have a great stylised flower design in eye-catching orange & blue.

various vintage enamel kitchenalia items

We always make sure we have a selection of enamelware in stock. Its always popular as it gives a vintage feel to the most modern of kitchens, without breaking the bank!.

Forthcoming Attractions: Early January 2012

Friday, January 6th, 2012

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collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including West German pottery, orange cased glass vase, orange desk lamp, teak lamp base with fibreglass shade and teak drinks trolley

We bought these items this week – most of them from one local contact actually. It’s quite a mid century modern collection!

collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including West German pottery vase, Dumler and Breiden bowl, orange cased glass vase, orange desk lamp, teak lamp base with fibreglass shade, Scandinavian teak mirror, atomic coat rack, stacking Tupperware containers, stainless steel vases and snack tray and teak drinks trolley

Two lovely bits of German pottery for starters – they’re both by Dumler & Breiden. We love the colour contrast and striking repeat pattern of the bowl. The vase has a very distinctive form similar to another piece we’ve got. The combination of thick, textured glaze to the sides and smooth vibrant orange glaze highlighting the holes & vase rim is very effective. We’re trying to be quite strict with ourselves these days, but that’s probably a keeper!

vintage Fat Lava West German vase with double holes produced by Dumler & Breiden

And yet more flashes of orange with the desk lamp & cased glass vase. The lamp, dating from the 60s/70s, is adjustable and has a label for  ’1001 Lamps Ltd’ of London. The vase is unmarked, but dates from the same period.

vintage teak lamp base with fibreglass shade

There’s another nice table lamp in view, this one being teak with a fibreglass shade. The base looks very Danish.

collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including Scandinavian teak mirror, atomic coat rack, stacking Tupperware containers, stainless steel vases and snack tray and teak drinks trolley

And, staying with the Scandinavian theme, we have some interesting stainless steel pieces. The snack tray is Danish and quite an unusual shape; the pair of matching vases were made in Sweden. There’s some lovely Tupperware spice pots too – both colourful & practical.

…and then there’s the classic 1950s atomic zig-zag coat rack. We’ve had lots of these and grab them whenever we see them – they’re always really popular with our customers.

vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

And last but not least, the teak drinks trolley that the items are sitting on.

vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

This is a lovely piece of furniture dating from the 1960s. It has the ‘Remploy’ label to the base.

detail of the bottom of a vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

It’s got a great look, it’s useful and is in excellent condition. Did we say we were trying to be strict with ourselves?!

Bookmarks: V & A Pattern

Friday, June 10th, 2011

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V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books

One little blog about two little books.

covers of V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books covers of V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books

Today’s Bookmarks post features V&A The Fifties and Pop Patterns

page from V & A Fifties Pattern book by Sue Pritchard

With less than a hundred pages each, they’re small – but perfectly formed.

vintage 1950s pattern illustration in blue with a Venetian scene

Each book has an introductory overview of its subject – prominent designers, artistic and social influences etc

vintage Calyx pattern designed by Lucienne Day in the 1950s

Written by Sue Pritchard in The Fifties and by Oriole Cullen in Pop Patterns.

Malaga pattern wallpaper sample produced by Palladio Wallpapers in 1955

Concise & informed  – they’re perfectly scaled to match the books.

vintage patterns designed by Marion Mahler for David Whitehead Ltd in the 1950s

The introductions are followed by plenty of illustrated examples…

Malaga pattern wallpaper sample produced by Palladio Wallpapers in 1955

…all taken from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Collections.

vintage Springboard pattern designed by Lucienne Day in 1954

Each book manages to pack in about 60 of them!

page from V & A Pop Patterns book by Oriole Cullen

These fantastic designs were used in textiles, wallpapers and home furnishings.

vintage numbers furnishing fabrics designed by Annikki & Ilmari Tapiovaara in the 1960s

Some of these patterns have actually been re-released of late – Calyx by Lucienne Day for example and Marian Mahler’s Mobiles.

vintage Chuck Berry and Marilyn patterns designed by Christopher Snow in the 1960s

For others, you will have to hunt down vintage examples – not an easy task!

vintage Wacky Packages patterned fabric designed for VIP Fabrics Inc in the 1960s

The books also provide lists of further reading if your appetites have been whetted.

vintage T-shirt prints designed by Marshall Lester for Scott Lester Ltd in the 1960s

Each book comes with an accompanying disc of 70 high resolution digital images of vintage patterns that you can use (with permission if they are to be used commercially).

Once again, both books are available from the H is for Home A-stores:

page from V & A Pop Patterns book by Oriole Cullen showing CD containing high resolution pattern images

They’re a good, inexpensive introduction to the subject…highly recommended.

[Many thanks to V & A Publishing for supplying these review copies]

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